There is a reason that I don’t have TV. I simply don’t like it. I don’t like turning it on and seeing the ‘voice of doom’ tell of what may be and attempt to frighten people into doing something or not doing something or well – just scare them.

It seems that every time I am near a television we are being warned of some type of impending doom. Be it our rights taken away, the poisons we are ingesting from our food or water, or how our environment is self-destructing before our very eyes.

It leaves one with a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness and to me anyway, is downright depressing.

I don’t think that the answer is sticking your head in the sand. Not by any means. I do manage to find news and editorials every day to read. After all, I don’t want to be ignorant of the world around me. But I do think that trying to stay informed without being overloaded by propaganda is very difficult to do these days. Everyone has an agenda and if they can’t get you to their side by reason, they will do so by scaring the heck out of you.

Those of you who read often know that I don’t typically write of politics or religion. Those are two topics that I refuse to discuss on forums and in public. When I think about it, I am quite proud of that accomplishment, seeing that I have written over 1200 entries here and not once touched on those subjects. Perhaps that is why I still have so many readers. Perhaps they like reading because I am not trying to cram my own beliefs down their throats on a daily basis and I talk of ‘nice things’ like “creativity” and “beauty” and other positive things. I am in my happy place and I enjoy sharing it with others. Nothing makes me happier than hearing how I lifted someone’s day, either with my posts or with my designs. It gives me purpose and keeps me looking at things in a good an positive manner. It is how I choose to live.

So why am I discussing all of these other unpleasant things?

The simple reason being I made the mistake of looking at the news (the weather actually) to see what things were going to be like when we plan to travel on Thursday. I am really appalled at what I came across.

Yes.

I get it.

There is going to be a storm on Wednesday on the Eastern coast of Canada and the USA. Apparently it is going to be a big one.

Unfortunately for Keith and I, it is due to arrive the day prior to our leaving to teach in Saratoga Springs, NY. That means we need to drive right through the path of it.

Because of the timing, we will not be able to leave earlier than planned. The worst of it will supposedly occur on Wednesday, and we plan to leave on Thursday. By then, it would have passed and while the cold temperatures will remain for a day or so, the snow and wind will be done with. If we go slowly and carefully, we should arrive at our destination OK. We just have to be sensible.

What bothered me the most however was the raging headlines that all of the weather and news agencies have been broadcasting. You would assume in hearing their reports that this storm would be the end of the world. While I am certain it will have an impact on things, I can’t tell you how many times this year alone we have had tales of impending doom told to us, only to have what I would consider a ‘normal’ winter storm. It is frustrating to see these ‘fear-mongers’ getting so excited stirring the pot. It is as if they are overjoyed that they are the focus of people’s lives – even for a short time.

The story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” comes to mind. After so many false alarms, it is difficult to offer credence to the spouting of these broadcasters. I am not saying that there will be no storm – I am sure that we will get some form of system and snow/ice/wind – but I have heard so many times previously this year alone of disasters heading our way only to have what I would consider ‘normal’ winter weather result.

I began to really get depressed after reading these reports. It seemed ironic that the one time we really NEEDED to travel and be somewhere that we would be hit with something like this. But this is just part of nature and part of life, and like anything else that is sent our way, we will deal with it accordingly.

On the bright side, the storm will be passed by the time we pull out on Thursday. In all likelihood, things will be cleaned up by the time we hit the road. Since we are only driving on main highways, chances are that they won’t be too bad, and if we move with caution, we will do fine.

After a day or so of checking in on the weather channels, I decided not to do so anymore. It was only making me feel anxious and nervous and depressed. In all probability, we will be fine. We will get there when we get there and use common sense and consideration so we arrive safely. While I certainly take my responsibility seriously, the worst thing that will happen is we will arrive a bit later than we planned. We should still be in plenty of time for the class.

So with that said, I have calmed myself down. I worked on my “secret project” this weekend and Keith and I worked on the class materials for our presentation. I will elaborate on that later on, but we are going to introduce something that we both feel is very exciting for new scrollers especially.

I also worked on my embroidery this weekend, which did wonders in calming my nerves. I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but the piece I have been working on is entitled “A Perfect World”. How appropriate, I thought, as when I am working on it I am in a very happy place. Perhaps that is why I am enjoying it so much. When I sew on it, there is no pressure or expectations at all. Just the joy of learning something new and creating.

I finished panel 5 this weekend and I am very pleased with the results.

The elements on this panel include the Leucadendron Salignum:

It also has the Leucadenron Sessile:

I learned a great deal creating these flowers. Most notably, the ‘bullion knots’ which composed the center of the large flower. They were a bit difficult at first, but I got the hang of them and they came out really nice.

I also loved the darling little termites, whose bodies were also comprised of bullion knots:

The panel was both challenging and one of the prettiest so far. I love the beautiful dimension of it:

Today I will continue preparation for my journey. We need to continue printing the class manuals out as well as see if my new tires for my car are in. Whether we take the Mustang or not remains to be seen, but I want to be prepared either way.

We are at three days and counting until we depart. A lot can happen between now and then. I choose to be aware of the possibilities, but not focus on the horrors that will come my way. What will come, will come. And we will deal with whatever is dealt to us the best way we can. In between the chaos, I will dive into my “perfect world” as time permits. It will certainly help keep me sane in the midst of the turmoil of life around me. And the television will remain ‘off’.

I know what you mean by the news. We ditched cable a couple years ago for an antenna and the internet. Doom and gloom for sure. If you listen to Fox news you’ve heard several years of the coming political, social, religious, etc. etc. Armageddon. Some of the other stations do their own versions of it from time to time too. It’s just too much. Ditch the all day news stations and bring peace to your life.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful.

Keep up the creative work Sheila and let the folks who love the sensationalism watch silly TV :). You embroidery is coming along beautifully and you are showing flowers I have never heard of before. It’s always great to learn something new!

Sheila we have had no television for several years now.Well one that can receive any broadcast on, just for theone or two videos we watch a year. Newspapers went outof vogue as well except for getting folks old ones for the parrotcage and I reckon that it is Poop Upon Poop LoLWe really don’t have time for it, we are to busy living it.If a neighbours house floods, we can help, but if they are in another country, all I can do is feel sad, perhaps offer a kind word.

Two things. There is a BBC channel in the UK called News24. It’s a rolling news channel. There is actually five minutes of news each hour. The rest is speculation and opinion, mostly negative. So I only watch the top five minutes. Secondly I work with someone who will turn ‘a bit of frost’ into a full blown snow storm in the re-telling. Nothing is ever as bad as it seems however. I’m sure all will be well and any necessary snow ploughs etc will be deployed, if indeed needed. North America and Canada seems to be able to cope better with ‘weather’ than the UK anyway (see it could be worse). I like to take a positive outlook in the morning. As long as there is still air to breath and it eventually gets light life can’t be that bad.

We have cut off TV in our household, mostly because nothing gets done and it’s non-productive, expense eating, time waster, etc, etc, etc! We do watch movies from time to time on netflix. News is nothing but a horror show and horror movies are tame compared to some news bits!

I want to thank all of you very kindly for your support and comforting comments. I apologize for not responding sooner, but by we were out most of the day doing last minute errands and I was exhausted by the time I returned home. It appears that I worked myself into quite a state.

Your affirmations regarding news, TV and broadcasts are very welcome. It is comforting to know that it ISN’T “just me” who thinks this was and others recognize the poison that is fed to our entire society (all over the world, it appears) on a daily basis. No wonder the world is in such a state of panic and despair.

I don’t believe I would be able to cope on a daily basis. I don’t know how many of you do. You truly have my greatest respect and admiration.

Thank you for your kindness and friendship. I hope you know how much it means to me. I count on it. :)